GEO. RIGNOLD STORIES

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1645, 11 January 1913, Page 6

GEO. RIGNOLD STORIES

THE ACTOR'S ECCENTRICITIES, AND RESULTING CONTRETEMPS. As one who worked for Mr. Rignold during the wliolo of his actor-manager career in Australia, and as one who know him personally before ho cnmo to' this Southland of his greatest artistic triumphs; maintaining that closo association until the day of his death, I think it will be agreed that 1 can talk with a great degree of a'ceuracy on tho characteristics of him whom wo invariably called tho . grand old man" (writes Mr. R. Phillips, in tho "Sunday Times"). , Much capital has been niado out of his abruptness and scorning disregard of' his audience, 1 shall nover forget ono night wo,were playing "Confusion" to ono of the best houses we had had onitour. They swiply roared at the clever things"bf tie play, and the. hilarity ran so high that G.K. could not get on with his lines. For a time ho put up with it, and then those of us who knew him best understood that something was • going to happen. Ho arode to tho footlights, and majestically held up his hand. Immediately tho laughter oeased.and to a house in which you could have heard a pin drop he thundered o.ut: ' "Silence! Don't make such asses of yourselves!" :•"•-.■. Tho Man and Hl* Audience. I suppose'you •theatre-goers of to-day will have difficulty in' believing that the audience, ' like corrected school, children moderated tho degree of their enjoyment, and allowed even the whispers of tho great actor to-be heard in the topmost part of the gallery. • Ho was never backward, in telling an- audience what he thought of them, especially if thoso thoughts were not of' a ' very complimentary character. One night, when ho produced "Henry V" in Her Majesty's, Sydney, with all the splendour ■ usually, accompanying the Rignold masterpiece, tho audience was woefully small. In the opening scene he had a total of 120 actors and supers, and tho company was a most imposing'one. As the curtain went up the ' 'old man" surveyed ; first the empty benches and then the crowded stage....."l reckon "I have enough : people hore to give you a doing," he announced to the audience in his great big 'voiooV and- then, without pausing for the effect of his words, he went straight on with his lines, "Where's my Lord of Canterbury?" etc... One particular season in Adelaide was very dull, and it was wound-up with "Tho Lignts of London." There was the poorest audience I have ever seen in an Australian town.., Why, I don't know, for tho • "old. man'' was in,the best of form. Off stage ho had.expressed his disgust, but none of us were prepared for the intimation ho mado to the audience. It came in the scene which included.the driving away 'from home of the hero by the father because - the former persisted •in his love fot' Bess, the lodge-keeper's daughter. Sho had the lines to 'say:, "Come, Harold, we,had better bo . going." ■ Eignold's answer was the surprise packet of ithe evening. "Yes, Bess,. my poor darling," •he said, "and may the gods forgive mo if ever I pome back to Adelaide again." •

A. ; Good Master.

.' To his staff ho was .always the best of masters.' I can- remember 6ome quick changes that we were called upon to make. Frequently'one.big performance '• would finish on the Friday night„and another would start on tho Saturday. The majority of J;ha scene-shifters and property boys were 7 employed elsewhero in the.'day so'we had-to,work right' through.' tho night'.to' havo-. everything, ship-shape.' Dominating the proceedings was tlio ''old man" himself. Urns of coffee and'hugo troys of sandwiches were brought in/from an-adjoining restaurant, and "G.R., . armed with a boatswain's whistle, acted as foreman, host, toast-master,- guide, philosopher, and friend. Every now and then' his whistle would'bloW, ; niid "all hands i belay :f or ( cpff te !?'■;.Fifteen* mihutcsi later \ the shrill whistle would sound ngain.'ahdwork would be-resumed as enthusiastically as it had been adjourned. Really his enthusiasm and forethought made work a .'pleasure. The members of his company ,havo nono but pleasant recollections of his many kindnesses! '*\' .'" : . ,:, : The Stage-Struck Amateur. „ '

■ To; the.,stage-struok..amateur,, he.'was candid, ,but, would always give; a persistent one-a chance to win his spurs—to wit,,this anecdote: ... •■'■■•'

> A. youth of good family and no' little moans, after seeing Rignold in ft-number of his successes, became fired'with the desire to .do likewise, arid called on him, asking that ho .should -be-given! a "part", in the'production of "Black-Eyed Susan," then in preparation. '' ; '-: ' "Let mo hear you reoite." >"v ,vFilled.;with ,'enthusiasm ..and Ms . own idea of things, the eager one chqse:tke soliloquy from, "Hamlet" and. Mark Antony's'address to the Roman populace. "Um!" said ' G.R.) wrinkling his brow, but don't you .think it would'bo better If you took ori something' for. which you were more .suited, say, : carpentering or plumbing?"-: ■ , ' . . .-'.. , The eager \imateur was taken aback, but pleaded !that should only give him. : : a chance. Touched '■ somewhat by the. earnestness of ; his argument, but perhaps more by the offer, of, n substantial premium, which even the great actormanager ; could not, afford to turn flown; tho eager one was'tast for a minor part in "Black-Eyed Susan." His lines and business wero of the simplest character. The; curtain went up on a tavern scene, and the amateur was "discovered" drinking at a tablo. Rignold, mho played the jolly sailor-boy hero, came in, slapped the countryman, for 6uch the amateur, was, on the back, exclaiming, "Cheer ho, messmate! How' are things up your way? The countryman, supposedly surprised at j;he familiarity of' the sailor, was to exclaim: "Here! ' What are you doing? Who are you?"

"Why, don't you know ■ '.''; .' "Oh! yes! You're the man who's married —-.etc.".','

i At the rehearsals all went well, 'the eager amateur Acquitting: himself .creditably. . The first night came. All actors, even 1 the greatest, .will tell you of the 6trange nervousness that comes over them on the first night of a piece, causing them to "fluff," and in some cases to absolutely forget their: lines. Imagine, then,' the state of.. th 6 eager amateur reduced to that of a jelly on a hot night in January. His friends had booked half the theatre to witness his triumph. Somehow or other, ,'he kept heart enough to remain on the stage, and pumped out in a realistic manner'his query after the 6lap on tho back. . ' . . • •• ~ "Don't you know mo?" ■ G.R. was in fine'voioe that night, and the!audience hung on the answer of the eager one. "Y-e-e-es. Yes, of course I do"—a smile lit up his features—"you're Mr. Rignold!" Oh! how tho audience roared, and how G.R. roared, but not with glee. What he didn't say to the eager amateur he-re-served for any unoffending individual who crossed his path that night. • .'An Obsession of: Realism. If ho had'one obsession it was the-de-sire for'.realistic effects. On many occasions. this.nearly wrecked a production. I remember one particularly.- In "In the Ranks" .Rignold was « soldier, who broke barracks to succour his dying wife. A picket of minor characters, chosen mainly for their athletic appearance. 1 ' was selected to apprehend him. On the .command of Gideon Blake, the villain (Mr. J. R. Hazlitt), • this picket was fo seize tho hero as he left his homo for tho doctor. A struggle was to ensue, during which time the hero was to plead with his captors to let him go. Finally by a desperate burst he was to free himself, and. the scene to end. . On*tho first night I was ono of the picket, and we 'carried ■! out ojir-part of tho prbgrammo in. the usual stage crowd ! way. Rignold was mad. As we came off he abused us right and left. "Why don't you hold mo? Do vou think I ani a baby? I want the public to think that it is a real desperate struggle." ' " • ■ . ' : ; We conspired and decided to hold him. Next night as ho came out of his homo wo seized him in vise-like grips, one round 1 his neck, the second at auothcr point of vantage, and the third got a halfNelson on him. which precluded any. possibility of him freeing himself. "Let mo go; for God's sake let mo go!" This was his stago plea—wo hung on. "Let me go. Lot mo go." . Not us. Wo hung,,on like grim death. G.R. kicked, bit, fumed, and swore. We hung on. Tho audience cheered and cheered again at the magnificent bit of realistic "acting." Mr. Hazr litfc took tho situation in at a glance.'

"Eing down." Tho secno ended in a riot of applause before tho footlights, and a riot and something, elso behind.

"Why did not you let mo goP" Tho lion of tho audience ~ was a lion in reality. Ho glared at us; swore at us. Wo. urged tho gentle answer, which, is popularly Bupposod to turn away wrath, fliat he had told us to hang on. Ho surveyed the damago, His clothes iwero torn off his back, his arm was bruised, and ho was otherwise manhandled. .-■.'-,'. Tliero is a happy medium in all things. I want you to realise that. You're sacked."' Wo turned up at the theatre next morning: wo..were used to being sacked like that. He never bore us any ill-will over it. 7 Overdid the Details. Attention to details no doubt accounted for many of his successes, but I remember, one night that it proved his undoing. We were playing "Henry V" to magnificent business, and everyono was in the beslr of humour. In- tho throne,room scene thero was a chequered throno cloth wliich by some mischance this night I had allowed to' get about a sixteenth of an inch out of place. . G.R. saw this as ho camo on the stage befoTe the curtain went up. ' ; « ■ --■ , : ' ■ "Why had: not this cloth been placed as I desired it?"' ; v .

Tlio question was roared at me, who was primarily .responsible for tho,slight inexactitude. It was too. lato to' move everything to.fit it, so 1 the curtain went up.'All through the sccno I stood just behind Rignold out of sight- of tho audience, Always fond'-.of Shakespearo,. I knew Eignold's line's as Well as ho knew them himself, and during his longest speech of that,'scene I followed him word for word. Suddenly in tho middle of it ho stopped.:': I.,whispered bis. line. No response. His eyes were- fixed on an. object which I could not see.Mr. Hazlitt.who was playing tho Archbishop of •Canterbury, -gave him the cue also. No response. Wo all:thought that ho must be ill, ■ that something must be very wrong with him. Mr. Hazlitt gave tho order, and the ourtain camo down. I was not long;in finding tho cause of tho trouble, and' as I ."rushed- to him I 'was met witlr ono, of those withering glances of which only tho "grand old man" was master. \ - - .'.'„' -.'.'..'

"It's all: through'.! you, Phillips. You had that confounded cloth out of place, and I couid'not keep'.niy eyes off it." Got-It'At. Last! ' V' . .These little stories, show the peculiarities of the manV Although they'frequently meant abuse if or us they endeared us to himi Ho was always-just, for after the momentary,rago-: he; would ' bo as friendly as ever.' -In' a' 'performance wo got to think that, no ono mattered but him, and air hands hunj on his words. This keen interest : in our chief produced oud of the most laughable incidents in his career. In "Faust," which' strangely enough is to be revived just a week after his death, ho used to sing a serenade during the garden scene. It became, notorious in the company that he could never got the right 'noto to start with. A trombone player in tho orchestra used to hang oivthis moment with intense interest. Imagine the surprise! of the audience when one night there,camo a shriek of, delight from tho trombone player.' ; "George, you've got it I" The ."grand • old man" himself : burst out laughing, and the incident closed amid storms of applause;, _ His friends he nover, forgot, eloquent testimony of which could be found.at any !?•' A, >™ a ?y gatherings' at Braybrook, Middle Harbour, in the later years of his life. ...